The Xenoblade Chronicles Journal

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A day-by-day look at one of Wii's biggest exclusives.

By Richard George

No more waiting. Xenoblade is in my hands, imported from Europe alongside a European Wii. Though I have plenty of local releases to worry about, I've been dying to check out this game, which my UK counterpart called "Xenoblade Chronicles is the best Japanese RPG of this generation."

What I'm going to do is update this journal every few days with my latest thoughts on the game. I'm not trying to beat it as quickly as possible, nor am I trying to review it since, well, we did that for the European release of the game. These are just my impressions as I play through -- raw, evolving and completely in the moment. I'm starting off with some lengthier impressions, but expect those to decrease as I use more and more video to illustrate what I'm experiencing. Plus there are only so many ways to say the music is awesome, which it is.

Day One -- The World of Xenoblade

Xenoblade Chronicles starts with a bang. While the introduction consists largely of cinematics, the backdrop of entire civilizations being housed on the bodies of two gods eternally at war had my attention within the first few minutes of the game. These opening moments pitch a concept that operates at a very high level that doesn't even feature any main characters. Yet it works incredibly well. After establishing its scope and world, Xenoblade begins to focus, introducing the first of many, many tutorials. Even now, a couple hours into the game, I'm still watching various introductory movies and learning new gameplay mechanics.

Moving beyond the idea of gods in battle, I met three characters fighting a grand battle against what appears to be the big enemy of the game -- Mechons, an army of robotic creatures that best resemble insects in design. The opening sequences (cinematic or otherwise) don't actually feature the main character in the game, which I thought was a remarkably bold choice. The story seems intent on almost making the Monado, a powerful sword of seemingly limitless potential, the star of the game.

Dunban, one of the three heroes of the opening movie and the character you briefly control at the outset, is by far the most charismatic of the bunch, even though I only controlled him briefly. Again, the point here is more to set the stage, to create a sense of energy and dread, both through the big picture, the presence of the Mechons and the mystery of the Monado.

The music in Xenoblade, from the moment the title screen fades in to various battles, grabbed me. It's rare for a game's music to truly impress me, but Xenoblade has a particular, hauntingly epic sound that is both memorable and fitting. It lifts the game, making fairly routine moments much more interesting than they probably should be. When Dunban and his companions make a suicide run on the Mechons, you get swept into the moment, not because of their actions, but because the accompanying music rises to the occasion. Whether anything truly sticks with me beyond my run through the game remains to be seen, but so far I'm really enjoying what I'm hearing.

The grand intro calms down as I'm introduced to Shulk, who definitely appears to be the game's main character. So far Shulk very much fits what I'd consider to be the stereotypical, androgynous lead JRPG character, though he at least carries a sword that would seem relatively reasonable. Leave the "big sword dude" label for Reyn, one of Shulk's friends. I gained control of Shulk and Reyn in a narrow, grassy canyon as the two headed toward Colony 9, a major settlement in the area.

Exit Theatre Mode

Day Two -- Killing Rabbits

Xenoblade Chronicles technically gave me a tutorial on combat in the midst of its opening, high-stakes cinematic. Those battles were brief, however, and I had a chance to better appreciate the game's basic fighting mechanics more while hunting innocent creatures with Shulk and Reyn.

Xenoblade does follow some typical JRPG rules. Battles do operate in turn-based fashion, though the developers at Monolith Soft do their best to add more interactive elements. Characters are free to move around the field of battle, and position and proximity do matter. If my character is too far away (and eventually I can shift who I control away from Shulk), I won't attack. Likewise some special attacks, called "arts," require them to be in a specific spot for maximum effect.

Basic melee attacks happen automatically when engaged in battle, unless an art is specifically used. While my primary analog stick moves Shulk around, the d-pad allows me to shift between different attack options, including a healing spell. Once selected, the attack is pulled off -- if I need to be to the side of my enemy, I'd better be there already. If I'm assisting my allies, I can use the d-pad to then shift through their icons, which are displayed on screen at all times alongside basic information like health.

Battles start in two ways. Many creatures you encounter in fields (yes, they're all visible) won't attack you immediately. You have to specifically use L or R to target them and select the option to attack. However bigger enemies will immediately fight you when they see you. It takes an hour or two to run into these bad guys, but you'll likely know them when you see them. Also, a word to the wise -- the game seems to relish kicking your ass. You won't necessarily be able to handle every single threat you encounter at all times. The old RPG convention of dishing out threats that fit right in with your level of experience always felt a bit too staged to me. (Though admittedly I don't want to get stuck fighting grunt-like bad guys over and over as I struggle to level up. It's certainly a tough balance.) So far Xenoblade has a healthy mix. Prepare accordingly, save often.

Exit Theatre Mode

Day Three -- Colony 9

I arrived at Colony 9 relatively fast. Xenoblade doesn't wait around to bring you into a big town. A quick run through a canyon and I was in the game's first big establishment. Though this certainly doesn't compare to some of the bigger cities I've encountered in Final Fantasy games, it's nothing to scoff at. Colony 9 contains plenty of NPCs, shops and various odds and ends. I found myself distracted for a fair amount of time, even though the main story didn't require me to do anything but run to my friends on the other side of the map.

Speaking of maps, Xenoblade is generally pretty good at keeping your destinations clear. A simply directional arrow points you towards your goal, and a distance meter tells you if you're getting close to said goal. It's relatively easy, though there were a couple points where I found myself wandering off in some corner of the map only to find I hadn't quite taken the right path. Fortunately Shulk moves quickly, so I wasn't too inconvenienced. The lack of random battles helps minimize frustration as well.

That's a wrap for today's Xenoblade Chronicles journal. These first several installments are certainly going to be longer as the game introduces dozens of ideas and mechanics. As I get later in the game though, I'll do my best to give you a sense of how the game is progressing, and whether it'd be worth the hassle of importing and investing dozens of hours of time. Keep checking back -- there are more updates to come.